The Social Stock Market
by pinkharts
Summary: At BOCD High, people are not just talked about...they're also ranked. AU I'M BACK AND I FINALLY UPDATED!
1. Ninety Nine?

**I seriously have too many ideas…and I so I keep coming up with new stories and I never finish them…Ugh, I've got to stop doing this, but I can't. So here's another idea that became another story. You guys will seriously have to PM me everyday to make me continue all my stories. **

**Disclaimer: This story is kinda based off/simliar to The Market by J.M. Steele. **

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I never really considered myself unpopular or socially handicapped. You know, I was one of those kids that were right in the middle. But now that I was all by myself at Alicia Rivera's annual Halloween party, I felt more unpopular as ever before. I knew absolutely no one. None of my friends had gotten invited, so why was I invited? I had absolutely no clue.

I was sitting down on the couch in the Rivera's massive living room, pretending to be interested in the family photos that were lying on the table. There were pictures of Alicia in Hawaii, Italy, France, Germany, Japan…you name it. That girl has been everywhere. Not to mention she had a private jet that was ready twenty four-seven, ready to take her anywhere she wanted. Last year, she even left in the middle of math class to go to Italy to purchase these new and exclusive Gucci sunglasses that had just come out.

Alicia was the type of girl that everyone envied and wanted to be. Except me. I absolutely despised her. Everything from her gigantic boobs and her long thick black hair, to the faux Spanish side of her. She had a black AmEx card, a red Porsche, and everything else a teenage girl could possibly want. Oh, yeah, did I mention that she had a super hawt brother who's a year older? His name was Cam Rivera. But they technically weren't related at all to each other. Cam was adopted when he was 10. He was the captain of the lacrosse team and swimming team. Every girl was drooling over Cam, but he never dated any of the juniors because Alicia was super protective of him. She would kill anyone who tried to get with him. Right now, he was single. He was probably the hottest guy at school-too bad he was Alicia's brother.

Suddenly, a group of girls dressed up as angels stumbled into the room and nearly tripped on my outstretched feet. Their drinks sloshed around as they tried their best to maneuver around me.

"Oops!" A girl exclaimed, when a bit of her drink spilled onto my costume. "Sorry, Cinderella!" Her friends giggled as they left the room.

"Shit," I muttered, looking down at my now stained dress. It had cost quite a fortune to get and I was planning on returning it after the party. No one wanted to wear a stupid hand me down dress to the party.

I got up and quickly scurried to the nearest bathroom, hoping no one would see me in my ruined dress. Once I was inside a bathroom, I took off my mask. I knew the mask wasn't a part of the dress or the party, but I had gotten it just in case, so no one would recognize me and make any rude remarks. I took out a pen type of thing that removed stains. Okay, call me a freak for bringing this, but I wanted to be prepared and it looks like my preparedness actually came in handy. I started gently rubbing the pen on my stain and pretty soon, the stain was disappearing. I sighed a breath of relief. The stain was barely noticeable now. Hopefully the store would take it back. I glanced at myself in the mirror and reapplied some lip gloss. I smoothed my hair and checked my cell phone to see if there were any text messages from Dylan Marvil, my best friend since elementary school. Nope. I sighed and opened the door. i found myself face to face with Cam. Well, more like face to back because he was sitting down right outside.

He turned around and stood up. "Oh, hey, you're Massie Block, right? The one in my calculus class?"

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention I was in his math class because I'm super good in math. Yeah, I had to sit behind him everyday and what did I do? I stared at the back of his gorgeous head. I nodded, surprised that he even knew my name. "Uh, yeah,"

"Cool, I didn't expect to see you here."

Yeah, I know. No one did. "Yeah, I was invited and decided to go because I had nothing else better to do." It was true. I had received an invite in my locker last week.

"Cool," Then he seemed to remember why he was here in the first place. "I gotta use the bathroom, all the other ones are occupied."

I nodded and let him through.

"Maybe I'll talk to you later." He said, before shutting the door.

I smiled and felt happier than I was before. I wandered around from room to room, trying to fit in with the crowd. But there was no success. I walked out onto the balcony and sat down on one of the chairs, enjoying the view. I decided to send Dylan a text.

**MassieB: hey, wat r u doing rite now?**

**DylanM: nothing…just watching a movie w/chris…HAU?**

Chris Plover was Dylan's boyfriend and they had been going out ever since the start of school this year.

**MassieB: sitting all by myself**

But at that moment, someone came out onto the balcony and wrapped his arms around me.

"Hey, baby,"

I froze. I knew exactly who the person was. It was Josh Hotz, Alicia's boyfriend. I turned around and peeled his arms off of me. But then he immediately put them back on. I looked at him and noticed that his eyes had a glazed over kind of look. He was drunk.

"Josh, what are you doing?" I asked, getting up.

"I'm trying to be with my girl," He slurred, reaching for me.

I slapped his hands away. "Josh, you're freaking drunk," I snapped, "I'm not your girlfriend. _Alicia's _your girlfriend." I slapped him on the face and he staggered back, clutching his face. He grinned and lumbered towards me. I panicked and froze. What was I going to do? Josh was six feet tall and was super strong.

Suddenly, Josh was pulled away and pushed into a chair. I looked to see how my savior was. Eh. Ma. Gawd. It was none other than Cam and he wasn't looking too happy.

"What do you think you're doing?" He hissed.

"Nothing," Josh muttered,

Cam shoved Josh into a chair and shook his head.

"Josh?!" Alicia shrieked, appearing out of nowhere. She was standing at the doorway with her two best friends, Claire and Kristen. "What were you doing?"

"He was trying to kiss Massie," Cam said,

"You were?" Alicia yelled, her voice shrill enough to break everyone's eardrums. She walked up to him and smacked him on the head. "Why? I can't believe you!"

"I'm sorry," Josh muttered, bending his head down in shame like a little puppy. "I'm drunk and I didn't know what I was actually doing."

Alicia seemed to take sympathy on him and cracked a smile. "It's okay, as long as you promise me not to do it again."

"I promise," He muttered and then he winked at me.

I gasped. Unbelievable. Josh was such a freaking liar. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but apparently no one did. They were all too absorbed in the moment with the It couple.

"I'm, uh, going to go now," I muttered, moving towards the door. but Alicia blocked my way and stared at me, as if noticing me for the first time.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed. "No one invited you," Her diamond TPC necklace glittered in the light. TPC stood for The Pretty Committee and only Alicia's closest friends had one. Kristen and Claire were the only other ones that had them.

"Um, actually, I got an invite in my locker last week."

"Oh," Alicia seemed puzzled, "Maybe that was by mistake. Oh well, whatever,"

My face burned and I quickly pushed my way through. Alicia caught up with me and whispered into my ear. "You better watch out, ninenty-nine." She turned around and walked back to the party.

Ninety-nine? I frowned. What the hell did that mean?...

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**So yeah. What do you guys think? Do you guys think I should continue this or not? Let me know in a review!**


	2. Stock Market?

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed! And don't worry, this story will be Massington, it may just not seem like it YET. :] Review. **

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The next day at school, my locker was covered in sticky notes that said 'ninety-nine' on them. I ripped them all off and threw them into the trash can. I opened my locker and grabbed my English, Spanish, and math binder. That was all I needed fro the morning. I slowly headed towards my first class which happened to be math. I walked ever so slowly, not wanting to go to class. The whole scene from yesterday night flashed in my mind. I grudgingly walked into class but then my mood brightened slightly when I saw Cam already in his seat. I flashed him a smile but all he did was ignore me. _Okkkk_…So much for yesterday night. It was like Cam didn't know me. I slipped into my seat and took out my binder and notebook. I stared at the back of Cam's head until class started. But even when class started, I couldn't pay attention. I was busy doodling on my notebook and listing all the possibilities that ninety-nine could stand for.

1. The average grade I got on tests.

2. The number of times I've watched the whole first season of _Gossip Girl_.

3. How many things I wanted for Christmas.

The list went on and on and of course, none of them were really true. They were just complete exaggerations.

"Miss Block, what is the answer?" My teacher, Mr. Wilson, asked, suddenly jolting me out of my thoughts.

I panicked and looked at the board. There was nothing written on it. I gave Mr. Wilson my innocent look and asked, "Can you please repeat the question?"

Mr. Wilson sneered. "No, and in that case, since you can't pay attention in class, why don't you try paying attention in detention!" He started writing a slip.

I gasped. I had only gotten detention one other time and that wasn't even my fault. It was because of someone else. Some kids snickered.

"Well, looks like Miss Goody Two Shoes isn't so good." Cam muttered.

Mr. Wilson whipped around. "The same goes for you, Mr. Rivera. Anybody else want detention? I'd be happy to write more slips." The whole class was silent. "Good, I didn't think so." And then he turned back around.

I frowned. Why was Cam being so mean to me? All I did was talk to him last night…that's it. What had I done to make him act like this? I sighed, frustrated.

--xoxo--

The instant the last bell rang, I raced to my locker to gather my things. To my dismay, I found some notes from people saying to stay away from Josh. The longest and harshest one was from Alicia obviously.

_I don't know what you were trying to do last night, but whatever it was, don't ever do it again. I know it was really you who made a move on Josh. Josh was just being nice by lying and I'm still wondering as to how you got into my party. But whatever, you're never coming to one ever again. So just stay away from me and Josh, ok? Good, Ninety-nine._

_Alicia_

_P.S. Oh yeah, you're probably wondering what 'ninety-nine' means, right? _

Oh wow, really? She thought I was the one who made a move on Josh? Disgusted, I turned around to throw away the note, but I bumped into Cam instead. Surprised, I took a step back and banged my head on the edge of my locker. "Oww," I winced, "What are you doing here?"

"The same thing you're doing," He answered, referring to the note I was reading.

"You read the note?" I asked in disbelief. He had snuck up on me and I didn't even notice.

"Yup, harsh," Cam nodded, "But don't worry, I know what really happened,"

"Great, then why don't you go tell your sister what really happened," I snapped,

"Maybe I will," He smirked.

Was that his way of smiling? Was he being friendly to me again? Ugh, he's like so bipolar or something. One minute he's completely ignoring me, and the next, he's talking to me. I totally didn't get him.

"Come on, we have detention," Cam reminded me, "And we don't want to be late for that. The detention guy scares me."

I cracked a smile and desperately wanted to ask him if he knew what ninety-nine meant. But I couldn't do that because I would probably embarrass myself. Cam and I walked side by side to the oh so boring place called detention.

--xoxo--

Detention ended up being more boring and stupid that I thought it would be. It was so boring and lifeless that Cam ended up falling asleep. I had to hit him with two paper balls to wake him up. But then he just fell asleep a few minutes later, so I just gave up.

Finally, after what seemed like years, the detention guy finally let us go. I hurried out of the classroom and went outside to wait for my mom to pick me up. Usually I would drive home in my own car, but I didn't have my car with me right now because it was getting fixed. Cam came outside a few minutes later with Alicia by his side and saw me and stopped.

"Hey, you need a ride?" He asked.

"Cammmm, let's go home already." Alicia whined, tugging on Cam's sleeve. "I have a spa treatment in half an hour. I can't be late."

I looked at Alicia who sniffed and gave me a glare. "Um, it's ok, my mom should be here soon." Alicia smiled and started dragging Cam away.

"You sure?" Cam got free of Alicia's hold. "I mean, you don't have to wait, I can just drop you off."

I smiled. "It's fine, seriously. My mom should be here in a couple of minutes."

Cam shrugged, "Ok, if you say so. I guess I'll just see you tomorrow. Bye,"

"Bye," I watched Alicia and Cam get into their Porsche and they drove away. I sighed and took out my iPod and started listening to music.

--xoxo--

**mrmysterious****: wanna know wat '99' means?**

Whoa. Who was 'mrmysterious'? And how did he get my screenname? I was just reading a book for English when that suddenly popped up on my computer.

**Massiekur****: ya**

**mrmysterious****: go to BOCDssmarket**

**Pw-rankings321**

Before I even had a change to reply, he signed off. I took a deep breath and typed in the address. A screen popped up and asked for the password. I slowly typed it in and braced myself for what was coming. Instantly, tons and tons of names and initials popped up. I look at the top and it said, "The BOCD Social Stock Market". Stock market? Was our school investing money for each of us? Did I have ninety-nine dollars or something so far?

I scrolled down and looked at the first name. Oh, it was Alicia Rivera. I clicked on her name and a whole new page popped up.

**1. Alicia Rivera**

**Market Ranking: **1

**Today's Change: **0

**Share Price: **$100

**Change: **0

**3 Month Range: **$100-$100

**Status: **Blue Chip

Then there was a graph that showed the difference and change in the money/popularity.

**Analyst Recommendation****:** There is nothing to recommend. The girl is perfect.

**-Definite Buy-**

I sucked in my breath. This was a list of all the two hundred junior girls at BOCD…and they were all ranked. Ehmagawd, what was I ranked? I closed the window and continued scrolling down the list. Naturally, Kristen was second and Claire was third. I spotted Dylan at 104 and I felt bad for her. Then I spotted myself above her. I was 99. I wasn't above her by much, but still, I was above her. I dreadfully clicked on my name.

**99. Massie Block**

**Market Ranking: **99

**Today's Change: **Down 3

**Share Price: **$10.25

**3 Month Range: **$10.00-$12.00

**Status: **Junk Bond

My graph showed nothing interesting.

**Analyst Recommendation:** Has a bit of potential, but her actions are bringing her down. Especially after Alicia's party last weekend. What was up with that? Trying to steal Alicia's boyfriend? Not cool and definitely not a smart move. That girl has got to set straight.

**-Definite Sell-**

Grrrrreat.

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**So there you have it. What did you think? REVIEW! I hope I can get 10 reviews for this chapter! Oh, expect a Summer Love update in a couple of days!**


	3. Guys Too?

**Thanks for all the awesome reviews! :]]]] So here's the next chapter. **

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Okay, so I was a complete loser. Well, at least I was to the people who controlled the Market. I didn't want to believe what the Market said about me, but a bit of it was actually true. What _was _I doing at the party? I should have just stayed home that night, like I had originally planned to. Now everyone thought I was a freak who was stupid enough to "fool" around with Josh Hotz. Gawd, why would I even like him? I thought he was arrogant, stupid, and bossy. Just like Alicia. Ha-what a perfect match. Dylan really needed to know about this, so I IM'ed her.

**Massiekur****: heyy, u have to see something! Go to – theBOCDssmarket**

**Password-rankings321**

**BigRedHead:**** Umm, what's that?**

**Massiekur:**** just go there. U'll see**

**BigRedHead:**** ok, one sec then**

I rolled my eyes and waited for Dylan to check out the Market. About five minutes later, Dylan IM'ed me back.

**BigRedHead:**** holy crap! I'm #105!**

**Massiekur:**** uh, yea…and I'm #99**

**BigRedHead:**** I seriously want to kill whoever is controlling this market. This is sooo not cool.**

**Massiekur:**** yea, I kno. I just wanted to show this to u. we'll talk more tomorrow,b/c I g2g now. C u tomorrow.**

**BigRedHead:**** k, bye**

I signed off and wondered if all the seniors, sophomores, and freshmen were ranked too. Because if not, then the person who was controlling the market would obviously be a junior too, right? Oh wait, but then why wouldn't they rank themselves as the top? Oh right, because everyone knew that Alicia, Claire, and Kristen were always going to be the top three. Well then maybe the person is somewhere near the top. Ugh. All this Market thinking was making me confused. I had to stop thinking about it and start my homework. But just then, someone knocked on my door.

"Come in." I called.

"Honey," my mom said, "there's a young man at the door for you."

That was all I needed to hear. I was out of my chair, running down the stairs as fast as I could and nearly tripped over my own shoes. I checked myself in the mirror. Was it Cam? What did he want? I smiled brightly and opened the door. "Hey-Derrick." My smile faltered a bit. It was only Derrick Harrington, another guy in my calculus class. He was a junior like me. He had shaggy blond hair which often reminded me of a golden retriever and black rimmed glasses.

"Hey, where you expecting someone else?" Derrick gave me a quizzical look.

"What? No, no, I wasn't," I hastily said, "What brings you here?"

"Oh, I just wanted to give you your math notebook," Derrick said, handing the notebook over. "You left it in class today."

"Oh, thanks, but you could have just given it to me in class tomorrow."

"Um, but we need our notebook for tonight's homework." He pointed out, giving me a look.

"Oh, right, duh!" Don't know how I forgot that," I blushed, "Thanks again."

"Yeah, no problem," Derrick smiled, "I guess I'll just see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, ok, bye." I waved goodbye to Derrick and closed the door. I banged my head against the door. Why was I acting so discombobulated? I decided to blame it on the lack of sleep I'd gotten over the past week and the whole Market situation. I heaved a sigh and headed back upstairs to finish my homework.

But I couldn't help it. I got distracted soon. I found myself looking up other random people on the Market. As I was scrolling down the page, I noticed something small at the bottom. Something so small that I didn't notice the first time around. I squinted my eyes and made out "Boys Here". I raised an eyebrow. So there was a list for guys too? Hmm, I couldn't resist checking it out. I clicked on the link, and sure enough, the list of boys popped up. And ugh, lo and behold, Josh Hotz was number one. No surprise there.

**1. Josh Hotz**

**Market Ranking: **1

**Today's Change: **0

**Share Price: **$100

**3 Month Range: **$100-$100

**Status: **Blue Chip

**Analyst Recommendation:** Hmm, like Alicia Rivera, there's nothing really for this guy. He and Alicia are the perfect match. And kudos to him for being such a noble guy when Crazy Girl decided to "attack" him. Keep it up, Mr. Hotz.

**-Definite Buy-**

What. The. Hell. So now my name was officially Crazy Girl? Josh was _noble_? What kind of world were these people living in? I know at least I'm living in reality. I could name a million things Josh should change about himself. Disgusted, I quickly clicked on the back button and continued down the list. Then I noticed three more small links down at the bottom. "Freshmen" "Sophomores" and "Seniors" were what the three links were. No way. So the _whole_ boy population of BOCD was on here. Did that mean that all the girls were included too? Did I miss those links for the girls somehow? I had to go back and check. But first, curiosity got the better of me. I had to first finish looking at the guys.

I spotted Derrick.

**65. Derrick Harrington**

**Market Ranking:** 65

**Today's Change: **Up 4

**Share Price: **$34.25

**3 Month Range: **$30.00-$35.00

**Status: **Wavering Bond

**Analyst Recommendation:** Has definitely improved but can improve more. First, get rid of those hideous glasses. Ever heard of contacts? And second, stop acting like such a nerd. No one likes a nerd. The rest is up to you, whether you change or not. But if I were you, I would definitely listen to the advice that's being given to you. We'll see what happens.

**-Buy (At Your Own Risk)**

There were obviously less guys than girls at BOCD, so his ranking was higher. There was one more guy i had to look at. I went back and scrolled all the way to the bottom and clicked on "Seniors". There was no need to scroll down or anything because I knew Cam was right at the top. And sure enough, he was at the top. Well actually, not all the way on the top. Surprisingly, he was second instead of what I had expected-first.

**2. Cam Rivera**

**Market Ranking:** 2

**Today's Change: **Down 1

**Share Price: **$99.50

**3 Month Range: **$99.00-$100.00

**Status: **Blue Chip

**Analyst Recommendation:** Should be #1 like his little sister, but sadly went down a bit because of what he did at the Halloween Party. Going against Josh and siding with Crazy Girl? Not so smart. But it's okay, I'm sure Cam will be back to #1 in no time.

**-Definite Buy-**

Wow. Defending me cost Cam his spot? That's such a stupid reason for moving him down. But then again, almost everything the analyst says is shit. I smiled though. Cam had done something for me and instead, got punished in a way for what he did. He was like my hero or something.

Okay, wait, wait, wait. No. Cam was _not _my hero. What was I thinking? I barely know him. He's just my friend (kinda). What with all his bi-polar-ness stuff going on, I don't know when I'm his friend and when I'm not.

Now there were no more guys left to check out, I went back to the girls section to look for other grades. Sure enough, they were all at the bottom too, just like the guys. Wow, I must have been really spacing out during the first time. Either that, or I was too nervous or shocked to pay any attention to anything else.

I glanced at some girls I knew from sports and clubs and sadly, they were all ranked pretty low. I gritted my teeth. Seems like only the popular and pretty people were at the top. It wasn't fair. Whoever was controlling the Market obviously doesn't know anything about the other people and that's why the controller ranks them so low. I've got to change up the rankings. But how? It wasn't possible. As long as Alicia was alive, she would always be on the top. And as long as her two best friends were alive, Kristen and Claire, they would also be the next two highest.

So there was The Pretty Committee, the Market, and the controller of the Market, who I assumed was also the analyst. But there could be multiple people managing the site. But as of now, since I knew very little about the site, I would call the creator/controller of the Market to be the analyst. Anyway, as I said, there was The Pretty Committee, the Market itself, and the analyst.

So where did I come in? That was the part I had to figure out. But I wasn't going to worry about that, I had my best friend to help me with that. Pretty soon, _we _are going to be at the top. So watch out, Alicia Rivera.

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**Another 10 reviews, plz? :] FYI-hopefully an update from Summer Love will be coming soon. I'm still trying to think of ideas and stuff. :]**


	4. A?

**Ugh, it's back to school on Wed. But hopefully I'll still be able to update. :] And have you noticed all the titles of the chapters end in '?' Haha, kinda random. Review.**

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Let me tell you, texting behind the teacher's back in class is never easy. Especially when you're carrying two giant boxes filled with printer paper that each weighed fifteen or twenty pounds in one arm. No, I wasn't actually in class texting. I was actually in the hallway, having just left the supply room. My art teacher had sent me to get more paper for this project we were doing.

So now, I was carrying two boxes in my right arm and had my cell phone in my other hand. This was the only time I could text Dylan. This was the only time when no one would catch me texting. I sent Dylan a quick message because my right arm was starting to hurt.

**MassieB: hey, meet me right outside 313 at lunch. ASAP.**

I quickly shut my phone and slipped it into the back pocket of my jeans. Then I gratefully switched the boxes to my other arm. It was a long walk back to the art room, not to mention that the hallway was completely silent. That's why I let out a small gasp and almost dropped the boxes when my phone started playing T.I.'s "Dead and Gone". But before I could open my phone, I heard click clacking noises approaching from behind. I turned around and spotted The Pretty Committee heading my way.

"Don't you know you're not supposed to text in school?" Alicia smirked, looking at my phone.

I looked at the three of them. "Don't you know you're not supposed to be cutting class?" I shot back.

"We're nawt," Alicia denied, "We're going to the bathroom."

"Together?" I raised an eyebrow.

"_No_, of course not," Alicia wrinkled her nose. "We just happen to be heading towards the bathroom at the same time."

"Yeah, it's just a coincidence." Kristen added, as if that made any difference.

"Sure, whatever," I said, "You girls go have fun." I did not have time to listen to their bullshit. I turned back around and started walking away.

"I'll tell the principal that you were texting." Alicia called after me, determined not to let me have the last sentence. She sounded like a third grader.

"Then I'll tell the principal that you guys cut class today." I said right back. I waited for Alicia to say something back. Silence. I smiled. I had gotten her.

As I rounded the corner, I stepped on someone's feet and elbowed their very hard stomach. I dropped the boxes to see who my victim was.

I blushed. It was Cam. I was carrying the boxes right in front of me and couldn't see what was in front of me. But I had assumed no one was in the hallway so it was okay. Well, I thought wrong. "Oh my God, are you okay?" I asked Cam. Why was I always bumping into him? Why was he always next to me when something band happened? It's not like I was a Cam magnet or anything. Not that being a Cam magnet would be bad. It just seemed like I was always bumping into Cam these days.

Cam laughed. "Yeah, don't worry, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "Because I stepped on you _and _elbowed you in the ribs."

"Yeah, it didn't really hurt."

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." I muttered.

"It's okay, it wasn't entirely your fault. Those boxes look pretty big and heavy," He said, "You need any help?"

"Oh, no thanks," I shook my head, "I got it."

"No, really, I could help you," Cam insisted, "It would be a lot quicker."

I sighed. He had a point. It would be a lot faster and I had already wasted enough time talking to The Pretty Committee. "Okay, sure, but only because you want to."

He laughed and bent down to pick up the boxes. "Jeez, these are pretty heavy. I'm surprised you can even carry these."

"Hey," I protested, "are you saying I'm weak like most typical girls in my grade?"

"No," He laughed, "I'm not saying you're weak…it's just that I assumed you wouldn't be capable. See, for example, Alicia definitely wouldn't be able to carry this for her life. But shh," He winked at me. "Don't tell her I said that."

I smiled. "Don't worry, I won't."

"Good, and you're not one of the typical junior girls." He added.

My heart fluttered. What was that supposed to mean? Was it a good thing or bad thing? I didn't want to ask.

We finally arrived at the art room and I suddenly remembered something. "Wait, don't you have class?" I asked. "Because you shouldn't have offered to help because you're supposed to be in class. And now your teacher's probably pissed and then he'll give you detention. And then—"

"Chill," Cam laughed, interrupting me. "I have a free period right now."

I relaxed. "Oh, good." I opened the door to let him in.

Twenty-three heads swiveled around to see who had just come in. and fifteen of the heads belonged to girls who all stared at me, their eyes filled with jealousy. But why? Oh right, because I was with Cam Rivera at the moment. I could just imagine what they were all thinking right now.

_What is Massie doing with Cam?_

_Why is Cam with Massie?_

_What were they doing together?_

But I just ignored all their faces. Instead, I went up to my teacher, Mrs. Waverly. "Here is the paper that you wanted."

"Ah, thank you, Massie." She looked at Cam for a name.

"Cam," I supplied.

"Right, and thank you, Cam."

"No problem," Cam said, "So I guess I'll just see you later then."

I nodded. "Yeah, bye,"

He waved goodbye to me and left the classroom silently. All twenty-three heads swiveled back, now that the main attraction was gone.

--xoxo--

Usually, I would have been starving by lunch time. But today, I was too excited to be hungry.

Last night, as I laid in bed, I was thinking about the Market and how Dylan and I could go from bottom to top. That's why I was going to spend the whole lunch period explaining Operation KTPCAGOT, which stood for Kill The Pretty Committee And Get On Top. Of course, it wasn't as easy as it sounded. We couldn't just kidnap Alicia and her friends or something out of the blue. Her bodyguards would probably find them in less than an hour. Plus, Dylan and I just weren't the type of people that would do something like that.

"Hurry up," I told Dylan, who was waiting in line in the cafeteria.

"Dude, be patient," Dylan smirked, "We have plenty of time and I need my food, otherwise I won't get past physics next period."

"Okay, okay, sorry." I said. Well, since I was already in line with Dylan, I might as well get something quick to eat. I picked out a banana and threw it onto Dylan's tray.

"Hey," Dylan protested, "I'm not paying for that."

"Don't worry," I rolled my eyes. "I'll pay you back later."

"Fine." Dylan sighed as she paid for the food. We sat down at our usually table and I started explaining.

"Okay, so you want to be on top, right?" I asked Dylan. Then I laughed. It sounds like the saying Tyra Banks says in the beginning on America's Next Top Model.

"Yeah, of course. "Dylan answered in between bites.

"Good, because I came up with Operation KTPCAGOT."

"Ooh, really?" Dylan's eyes lit up in excitement, but then confusion clouded her face. "Wait, what does KTPCAGOT stand for?"

"Kill The Pretty Committee And Get On Top." I answered.

"Cool," The excitement back. "What are we going to do?"

My smile fell. "That's where you come in," I said, "I didn't come up with anything yet. And you're going to have to help me with that."

Dylan groaned. "Oh, great. You know I'm not good at coming up with these types of things."

I laughed. "Yeah, but I need your help. I can't do this all by myself."

"Okay, fine," Dylan said, "Let's get started then."

I smiled and the two of us started brainstorming.

--xoxo--

I was at home, doing my math homework and needed a calculator. I looked through the drawers of my desk but couldn't find one. I looked in my backpack and still couldn't find one.

Going to my last resort, I took out my cell phone to use for a calculator. I saw _1 New Text Message_ on my screen. I suddenly remembered that my phone had rung when I was in the hallway and I was about to open it when The Pretty Committee caught my attention.

I clicked on the "OK" button and read the text message.

_You know what people say. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Well, that's not the case here, is it? You really do want to beat them, and if you can't, you won't join them. Is that right? Just be careful of what you're doing. You never know what will happen and who's watching you. _

_-A_

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**Ooh, so who's A? Guess and ten more reviews, por favor. I think you guys know by now what I want, right? :]**


	5. What's Your Number?

**Bam! I'm back, guys! (Do you guys even remember me? :/ ) I've actually been wanting to write again for a long time, but I just never had any time! Do you realize how much school sucks? Finals are coming up in 2 weeks for me, and I really should be studying instead of writing! But anyways, I figure I'd update this story first and then maybe a couple others….it depends. Btw-be on the lookout for another story/oneshot coming soon!!**

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**-xoxo-**

_A?_ I immediately thought of Alicia. It had to be her. It all made perfect sense. Alicia _hated_ me. She hated the fact Josh was hanging around me during the party. She even hated the fact that I was invited to her party (even if it was by accident). And there was no doubt in my mind she hated the fact her brother, Cam, and I were hanging out recently.

My cell phone vibrated and a new text message popped up. but this time, it was from Dylan.

**DylanM: mass, look at this text I just got!**

She forwarded the text and I was scared for a moment that it was going to be the same text I got. But then I sighed in relief.

**Fwr: CamR: hey, Dylan, sorry for being a creeper for txting u. I was just wondering if you had massie's #. Her phone #'s not listed in the directory. I need 2 talk 2 her.**

Cam, a creeper? No, never. I rapidly texted Dylan back.

**MassieB: what did u say? Did u give him my #?**

**DylanM: no way. I told him that if he wanted ur #, he should just ask you for it.**

Normally I would be happy at the fact that Dylan told Cam to be courteous enough and ask for my number himself. But this is _Cam Rivera _we're talking about. He's totally an exception. I didn't care if he got my number from someone else. I frowned and called Dylan. Talking was so much faster and easier than texting. "Dylan, how could you?" I exclaimed when she picked up.

"What?" She sounded confused. "I thought that's what you would want me to do. Don't you want to talk to Cam again? Because there you go, another chance to talk with Cam."

"Yeah, I know, but he's never going to talk to me again." I grumbled, "And even if he does, he's not going to ask me for my number."

"What are you talking about? You guys will talk tomorrow for sure. Somehow…seeing as how you guys obviously don't have any classes together and almost never see each other during school…" Dylan trailed off.

I bit my lip. That was so true. Before the party, I almost never saw Cam around school at all. But all of a sudden, I've been seeing Cam a couple times every few days. It's like when he finally acknowledged my presence, we started bumping into each other more. I didn't know what was up with that, but I'm not complaining. "Whatever, if you ever happen to be talking about me with Cam again, give him my number." I changed my mind. 'Wait, no, don't do that. That's retarded. Never mind. Just don't do anything, okay?"

"My pleasure," Dylan muttered and then yawned. "God, I'm so tired. I still have to finish my physics homework. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," I sighed, "Bye," When I ended the call, the freaky text message from 'A' was still there. I cleared my head and deleted the text without a second thought. It was nothing. Who cares if Alicia sent a stupid annoying text? Alicia had probably already forgotten she had sent a text. I glanced at my notebook and remembered what I wanted to do. I got to the calculator and started punching in numbers.

**-xoxo-**

I had stayed up all night doing my math and physics homework that I forgot to do my U.S. History homework. So during lunch, I went to the library to do it. I rarely went to the library, so I didn't quite know where the textbooks were. "Where are the textbooks?" I wondered to myself.

"They're right next to the checkout area."

I whipped around and came face to face with Derrick Harrington. He gestured to the little cart that was filled with-textbooks. He adjusted his glasses and then asked, "What do you need?"

"Oh, uh, U.S. History," I replied, heading over to the textbook cart. But Derrick beat me to it.

"Here" He said, handing me the textbook. "I could help you with it if you want."

Why was Derrick offering to help me with my homework? We barely talked to each other, only occasionally in class when we were forced to do so in math class. Derrick must have sensed the awkwardness because he quickly shook his head and said, "Or not, it's totally fine. I got to go meet up with a friend anyway." And with that he hurried away before I even had a chance to say anything.

I dropped the textbook on an empty table and sat down. I looked at the questions I had to do and regretted not having Derrick help me. I had less than ten minutes to do this. I had no time to read the chapter, so I just tried to find the answers by skimming through.

I was almost done with the homework when the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. I only had a couple of questions left but they can each took around five minutes to do. I looked at the second to last question and groaned. _Screw this._ Mr. Lema better not mark me off for not doing two freaking questions. I left the book on the table and hurried to class. My history class was all the way across campus. It takes more than fives minutes to get there. Ten seconds after the bell rang, I slipped into class. Mr. Lema gave me a look. This wasn't my first time being late to his class. But all he said was, "I trust you have your homework, Miss Block?"

I nodded and slipped into the only empty desk.

"Did you finish your homework?"

I nearly got a heart attack and did a double take when I saw Derrick sitting next to me. _You're in this class?_ I almost blurted out. "Uh, almost. I didn't get the last two."

"Here," He took his paper out and handed it to me. I gratefully took it.

"Thanks," I smiled, "And thanks for earlier…in the library."

He smiled back tentatively. "Yeah, no problem,"

I quickly scribbled down the last two answers and hope it was legible. I slipped it back to him under the desk as Mr. Lema came down our row. He stamped my sheet and I gave him a tight smile. I gave Derrick a grateful look and he blushed and looked away.

After checking homework, Mr. Lema started his boring-ass lecture. I, of course, tuned out like I do everyday. Mr. Lema was halfway through his lecture when a knock interrupted him. I looked up and saw Cam standing at the doorway.

"Sorry for interrupting your class," Cam apologized, smiling adorably. "I need Massie Block for a few minutes. She needs to pick up something from the office."

Wait, what did I need to pick up? But I didn't want to argue. I would be happy to leave this class. I gathered my things and followed Cam out the door. 'What do I need to pick up at the office?" I asked, walking next to Cam.

He gave me a mischievous grin and winked. "Nothing. There was nothing going on in the office and so they told me I could leave. I was bored and wanted to do something fun."

"So you decided to take me out of class? I don't want to ditch class." I paused and gave him a slight frown. "You're not a very good office aide, you know."

He chuckled, "I'm not? I think I'm a very good office aide. Besides, it's almost the end of class. No one's gonna care if you leave class a few minutes…and never come back. Plus, it's not like you're ditching class. You had to go to the office." He winked at me.

I cracked a smile. "I guess you're right. Thanks for rescuing me from my unbelievably boring history class." History was the last class of the day for me. I only had five classes and I didn't need to take P.E. obviously because I'm a junior and only freshmen and sophomores needed to take it. "So…are you getting anyone else?" _Please say no. Please say no._

"No, I was just thinking we could go hang out at Starbucks or something. I really need a latte." He stopped walking and turned to face me. "Why? Do you want someone else to come?"

"No," I said a little too quickly, "I was just wondering. I really need some coffee too." I was too tired to do anything else. Except hanging out with Cam, of course. We walked to the parking lot and I searched for a Porsche, Ferrari, any car like that. Instead, Cam led me to a black Mazda. I guess I was surprised that didn't have a fancy, expensive sports car. He must have noticed my expression. "Sorry for the magazine mess," he said sheepishly, taking in my expression as a different meaning.

"Oh, don't worry about it," I smiled, "Seriously, your car is clean compared to mine." Cam opened the door for me and I slid in, butterflies erupting.

**-xoxo-**

We got to Starbucks in less than five minutes. Starbucks wasn't really crowded and Cam let me order first. I ordered a caramel macchiato and grabbed a table for us. I took off the lid to let it cool off a little first.

I watched as the dark brown liquid swirled leisurely in response to the motion of my hands. The manner in which i could manipulate the strong drink to twist and twirl beneath my fingertips comforted me. I was in complete control. The smooth fluid's obedient movement was a contradiction to my rapidly churning insides, fueled by the incessant, fevered fluttering of those _things_. If only I could control _them_. If only _they_ would act so submissively to my wishes.

Cam came and sat down with a piece of banana bread. "You want some?" He offered.

I shook my head. "No thanks, I'm not hungry." Truth was, I was just too nervous to eat anything. This was the third time in the past few days that I'd hung out/talked with him.

"You're not one of those girls who don't eat anything because you want to stay skinny, right?" I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

"No, of course not," I scowled, "I would eat three slices of pizza if I was really hungry." I winced. That probably wasn't the smartest thing to say in front of him. But at least I got my point across.

Cam laughed, "That's nice to know. Like I said, you're not one of those typical junior girls." He took a sip of his drink.

I blushed and ran my fingers through my hair. "Good," A few kids I recognized from school entered and I glanced at the clock. School was going to end soon. How had time passed by so quickly?

"So there's this party this weekend at my parents' lake house," Cam began, 'And before you say anything, I just wanted to first let you know that it's not my sister's party. _I'm _hosting the party so you don't have to worry about Alicia and her friends. She won't even be there because the party's going to be a secret so she won't have a clue." He explained. "So do you want to come?"

But I wasn't listening because something else caught my attention. A familiar blond shaggy-haired guy appeared. He turned and caught my eyes. Derrick gave me a long look, his eyes hard as if accusing me of ditching class.

"Massie?" Cam said, smiling at me expectantly.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," My chair scraped against the floor as I pushed it backwards. Without grabbing my drink, I headed towards the door through the crowded store which was now packed with students.

"Wait!" Cam called out, "What's your number?"

But I was already out the door.

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**So what did you guys think of this chapter? I hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know.**

**--Review, please!!**


	6. Are You Avoiding Me?

**Thanks for all the reviews!! They made my day! Sorry for not updating in over 2 weeks. Finals just ended and it's finally winter break, so I'll definitely be updating frequently now. Anyways, here's the next chapter, it's filled with lots of drama!**

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**-xoxo-**

It had been over a week already and that was how long I had been avoiding them. Them being Cam and Derrick. Let me tell you, it was not easy avoiding the hottest guy at school and it was not easy avoiding a guy who's in three out of your six classes. That's _half_ of my classes.

Once during lunch, I was in line in the cafeteria when I saw Cam enter. He looked through the crowd and spotted me. I started weaving through the crowded room, hoping to just grab a sandwich and leave. I ignored all the "Hey, no cutting!"s and went to the front of the line. I quickly paid and hurried back outside to Dylan.

I thought Cam would be mad at me or pissed off at me for not coming. After all, I had just left him there in Starbucks without an explanation. I wouldn't be surprised if he was angry at me and wanted to yell at me. So I thought it was just better to ignore him.

I heard that Cam's weekend party had been pretty amazing. They hired a DJ (no, duh!) and partied their asses off and went swimming in the lake at like, 10 at night. But the one bad thing was that Alicia had found out about Cam's weekend party and brought along a few of her friends.

I was walking in the hallway during my free sixth. It was raining outside so I decided to head to the library. As I neared the library, I heard voices coming from outside the library.

"You can't do this to me!" A girl shrieked.

I paused and then crept up behind the building, peeking over the corner. It was Alicia and Josh. Alicia's usual sleek perfect hair now hung down simply in the rain.

"Alicia, come out of the rain," Josh said, reaching to pull Alicia in out of the rain.

She slapped Josh's arm away and said, 'Don't touch me. You have no right to touch me."

My eyes grew wide as I watched the scene unfold before me. And it finally dawned on me. Josh was breaking up with Alicia. I couldn't help but smile. Finally, the world was coming to some sense. I waited for one of them to say something.

"You can't break up with me!" Alicia stomped her high-heeled boots, making a sharp clicking sound in the rain. "We're the golden couple. This can't happen!"

I could tell Josh was getting impatient. "Listen, I told you. I know we _were_ the golden couple and you're a great person."

"I'm a great person?" Alicia glared at Josh, "That's all you can say?"

"Well-

"No," Alicia cut him off. "You don't get to say anything else. This relationship isn't over until I say it is."

_Is she freaking serious?_ What was she thinking?

"I'm sure you're just upset that I didn't invite you to the party last weekend," Alicia stated, trying to keep herself calm.

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, as if a girl even _needed_ to invite her own boyfriend to a party.

Josh seemed to lose all the patience he had left and finally snapped. "Fine, you know what? I am upset!"

Alicia's perfectly glossed lips closed in shock.

"But I'm not upset about that," Josh said, crossing his arms. "I'm upset about the fact that you hooked up with another guy over the weekend at the party!"

It took Alicia a moment to recover from the harsh accusation. "What? That's not true! Baby, you know I would never do that to you!"

"And you know what's the worst part about it?" Josh continued on as if he hadn't heard a word Alicia said. "You didn't tell me this when you came back. I had to find out from the guy you slept with!" He said, his voice breaking.

I sucked in my breath. Now I knew Alicia was a bitchskank ho, but I didn't think she would ever do something like that. And as for Josh, I just assumed he was a stupid dumb jock who had no life. But I realized that was just the result of dating Alicia for so many years. I could tell that deep down he really had feelings and could be kind and caring, just like a normal person. And at that moment, I felt so bad for Josh. There's nothing worse than finding out your girlfriend cheated on you. Alicia totally deserved this.

"Josh, you know guys will say anything to impress their friends," Alicia said desperately. "None of what they said was true."

"Just stop," Josh said in a hard voice. "Stop lying to me, okay? I think you've already done enough already. You were the one person I trusted the most. How could you do this to me?" Josh turned and left without another word, leaving Alicia alone and shell-shocked.

I flattened against the wall as Josh brushed by, not even noticing I was there. I heard Alicia crying and after a minute, I decided to round the corner. Alicia heard me approaching and her head snapped up. Her look instantly turned into a glare. She quickly wiped her eyes as best she could, but she only succeeded in smearing her eyeliner and mascara even more.

"What are you looking at?" She didn't give me time to respond. She straightened up and pushed by me, running back out into the rain.

I slipped into the library and grabbed an empty seat at one of the computers. I took out my English binder and pretended to do my homework. But really my mind was still thinking about what had just happened. Now that the golden couple had broken up, how would everyone react to this news? I could only imagine how happy every boy at school would be. They were probably going to think they would have a chance with her. And there was no doubt Cam would be happy his sister and Josh weren't together anymore. Before I knew it, the bell rang signaling the end of sixth.

**-xoxo-**

When I get home, I went online and checked the Market. I was sure word about the breakup had already spread to the whole school and a few rankings must have changed. Sure enough, Josh Hotz was no longer number one. In fact, he had gone down quite a few slots.

**5. Josh Hotz**

**Market Ranking: **5

**Today's Change: **-4

**Share Price: **$98.50

**Change: **-4

**3 Month Range: **$100-98.50

**Status: **Blue Chip

**Analyst Recommendation:** Breaking up with one of the most popular girls? What was Josh thinking? Why would any guy want to break up with Alicia? Beats me. He better get his act together if he wants to get back up. C'mon Josh, we know you can do it. It's only a matter of time.

With a sigh, I closed the window and turned off the computer. There was no point in checking my stats because I knew I was probably still the same or maybe even worse because of god knows what. But that was the least of my concerns.

I turned to grab my iPod when my cell-phone vibrated. A new text message from none other than-A.

_Hey honey, long time no talk! Thankfully I didn't miss out on too much, huh? I heard the golden couple's breakup. Oh, what s shame. Whatever, everyone knew it was coming? How, you ask. Well let's just say I have my sources. And there's more to it than meets the eye. You better keep your eyes open for the next few days!_

_TTYL,_

_-A_

Um. What? Well this text wasn't about me this time, thank goodness for that. But still, what did A mean by this message? And why would she tell me she knew more information about the breakup and Alicia? Did she want me to do something? Well, even if she did, there was nothing I could do. Honestly. But instead of deleting the text right away, I decided to hold onto it. Maybe it would mean something to me later. For now, I guess I would "keep my eyes open".

**-xoxo-**

The next day I was at my locker when I heard some guy whistle and say, "Lookin' mighty fine, Alicia!" I turned around and saw Alicia at the front door entrance strutting her stuff as if she was on the runway. She looked bright and happy as if nothing had happened yesterday. As if her boyfriend of three years didn't just break up with her.

She was wearing a white frilly blouse that had a huge V-neck. Her buttons were practically all undone, resulting in a huge amount of cleavage showing. I t was topped off with a navy pencil skirt with slits on both sides a mile long each and she was teetering on black four inch stilettos. Hmm, no wonder all the guys were drooling after her.

"Call me for a good time!" Another guy called out.

"That's my sister, jerks!" Cam barked, walking in a few steps behind Alicia. He glared at every guy in the hallway.

Of course, Cam spotted me and so I quickly slammed my locker shut and turned to leave and go find Dylan. But Cam caught my arm before I could leave. I spun around and sighed impatiently as if I had somewhere important to go. Which I did, of course.

"Finally, I've got you," Cam smiled, but I didn't smile back. Okay, this was not the reaction I was expecting from Cam. "I've been wanting to talk to you all week. Have you been avoiding me?"

I bit my lip. "No, I've just been really busy. There's been a lot going on."

"Yeah, I know, but I feel like you've been avoiding me on purpose," Cam said, "Was it something I said? You left me at Starbucks last Friday and you didn't come to the party."

"Yeah, I found out Alicia was there…Do you know what happened between her and Josh?" Maybe Cam would tell me something. "I heard it had something to do with the party."

Cam's face scrunched up in confusion. "Wait, it had to do with the party?"

I blanched. "Uh, yeah, that's what I heard. Why?"

"Because that's now what I heard." Cam shook his head. "Alicia told me he broke up with her because he got tired of her."

Wow. What a liar. But clearly, Cam was more clueless than me. "Oh, okay. Maybe I heard wrong. You know how rumors are these day. Whatever, doesn't matter. What's done is done." I said, trying to move onto a new topic. But the bell rang.

"Wait, before you leave," Cam said, "What's your number?"

He still wanted my number? I grinned and started walking away.

"Massie!" Cam cried out. But I didn't turn around. I giggled and took out my cell phone and texted Dylan.

**MassieB:**** Dyl, text Cam and tell him that if he wants my #, he needs to earn it!**

**DylanM:**** ooh, playing hard to get, are we? Will do!**

I grinned. Yup, it was time to play hard to get. I wondered how long it would take. I got to my class right before the bell rang. Math-specifically Trig. Honors. With Derrick Harrington. Just what I needed to start my day. Math first thing in the morning was absolutely horrendous. At eight in the morning, I was still half-asleep. Luckily for me, I was quite good at math so I still got an A in the class.

Another thing, while most of my teachers let us sit wherever we want in class, my math teacher, Mrs. Connor, was big on assigned seats. And guess who I had to sit next to for a quarter? Yup, you guess it. Derrick Harrington. And what's worse, since last Friday at Starbucks, we hadn't spoken a word to each other. In other words, it was _super_ awkward.

I went to the back of the room where my seat was located (thank God) and grabbed the textbook from the basket underneath my chair. And a couple minutes later, we were checking our homework when I looked up from my homework at a familiar voice.

"Sorry I'm late, Mrs. Connor," Derrick apologized, his head bent down in embarrassment.

Whoa. Derrick Harrington _late_ to class? This never happened. But wait, something was missing…

"I had some problems with my contact lenses," he explained, "It's my first day with them. I'm not used to them."

Oh. My. God. That was it. He wasn't wearing glasses! He had…contacts. Holy shit. He must've gotten them just yesterday. My eyes followed him as he made his way to the back of the room. He looked kinda…_hot_. Okay, I know that sounded really weird. Yeah, the words _hot _and _Derrick Harrington_ aren't usually used together in the same sentence. But I wasn't kidding. He really did look hot. I don't know why though. Maybe his glasses were just blocking his true beauty.

I looked at all the other girls in class and I saw the looks in their eyes. I knew they were thinking the same exact thing as I was.

"Hey," I whispered to Derrick as soon as he got into his seat. "Nice contacts," I gave him a small, tentative smile.

He gave me a small, almost imperceptible nod. And that was it. He flipped open his binder and started checking his homework. Unbelievable. He still wasn't talking to me. Why? I didn't do anything wrong. It was time to clear this thing up. If I was forced to sit next to him for the next two months and work with him, things could not be awkward between us.

"Derrick," I called quietly, but he didn't hear me. Either that or he just chose to ignore me. "Derrick!" I said a little louder.

"Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Miss Block?" Mrs. Connor asked, looking up from the computer.

I gritted my teeth and smiled sweetly at her. "Nope, sorry," and when Mrs. Connor's back was turned again I tapped Derrick lightly on the shoulder. But again, he didn't respond. Okay, he was starting to really piss me off. I quickly kicked him in the shins and he responded with a grunt of surprise and turned to give me a scowl. I smiled. I was glad I had worn my high-heeled boots. That was probably going to leave a mark. "Finally, you noticed."

"What do you want?" Derrick hissed, rubbing his leg.

"I need to talk to you," I whispered.

"Yeah, well now's not a good time, if you haven't noticed." Derrick sneered, "We're in the middle of class."

I closed my mouth. When had Derrick Harrington gotten so mean and annoying? He was never like this before. Maybe it was the new contacts. Maybe the contacts changed his looks as well as his personality. "Okay, fine. Let's talk after school today in the library. Does that sound good?"

"No, Starbucks," Derrick said and turned back forwards without another word.

I stared at him. He wanted to go to Starbucks to talk? Fine, we would go to Starbucks and talk. We would go to Starbucks and figure this shit out.

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**So. I have 3 questions for you guys.**

**1.) Do you think this story should be Massington or Cassie?**

**2.) What do you think of Derrick and his contacts? Should he have stuck with his glasses or do you think he made the right decision in getting contacts?**

**3.) What do you think should be the 1****st**** thing Cam does in order to get Massie's #? **Best/most creative answer will be featured in the next chapter and the winner will get a shoutout!

**Expect the next update in a few days! Or maybe even sooner if I get lots of reviews!**

**REVIEW, please! **


	7. What's At Stake?

**Thank you guys for all the reviews!! So-the winners from the last chapter are** JustxJaycie **and **C-Cloud**! You guys both had similar ideas so I put them together and kinda tweaked them. You'll see! Enjoy!**

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All the other classes that I had with Derrick had been ridiculously annoying. He still completely ignored me. Oh well, not for long. Soon we would be back to normal. I was sure of it.

As I left my sixth period class, I noticed Derrick was already gone. I headed to my locker to dump all my unwanted crap. When I opened my locker, a piece of paper fell out and fluttered to the ground. I bent down to retrieve it and unfolded the piece of paper.

_What's this I hear about? You're making me earn your number? Let me tell you, this is the 1__st__ time someone's ever done this to me. So, you want me to earn your number? No problem. I'll be done in no time. _

_-Cam_

I laughed and tucked the note into the back pocket of my jeans. This was definitely going to be interesting. I quickly headed towards the parking lot. As I walked across the almost empty parking lot, I came upon Alicia and her two best friends, Claire and Kristen. It seemed like they were having a heated discussion because I could hear their voices from fifteen feet away.

"No, you just don't get it!" Alicia shrieked, "Neither of you do!"

"Alicia, I just think—" Kristen started.

"No! no one can find out about this!" Alicia yelled and glared at her friends. "Do you realize what would happen?"

"But maybe if you—" Kristen tried again.

"Shut up!" Alicia slapped Kristen. Then realized what she had just done.

Kristen's face burned. "I'm outta here," she said quietly and stalked off.

Claire looked at Kristen's retreating figure and seemed torn. She wasn't sure whether or not to leave or stay. But one look from Alicia convinced Claire to stay. Claire knew Alicia would make her life a living hell if she ever went against her.

"Let her go," Alicia said coldly, "She obviously doesn't understand what's at stake here."

What exactly was at stake? I was intrigued as to what secret Alicia was holding. Alicia tensed up as soon as she heard my footsteps. She shut her mouth and her glare intensified when she saw me.

"Stay away from my brother," Alicia spat as I walked by her and Claire.

I rolled my eyes. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I groaned inwardly and turned around. "What?"

"Did you hear anything?" Alicia snapped, trying to sound threatening. But I could see the fear in the back of her eyes.

"Hear what?" I asked innocently, maybe this was what A was talking about in the last text.

"What Claire, Kristen, and I were talking about," Alicia sighed impatiently.

"Kristen was here?" I looked around. "Like I said, no, I didn't hear anything."

"You better not be lying, Massie," Alicia scowled.

I scoffed. 'Why would I pay any attention to what you guys are talking about?" With that, I left Alicia and Claire alone in the parking lot.

**-xoxo-**

"You're late," was the first thing out of Derrick's mouth. He stood up to throw away his cup. 'That was my second cup. I've already had two cups while just waiting here for you to show up." He added the last part to make it seem like he had been waiting for a long time. And by long, he meant ten minutes.

Well who made you drink two freaking cups of coffee? I was tempted to say as I sat down. And whose smart idea was to come to Starbucks instead of the library? But what I actually said was, "Sorry, I got held up at school." God, I shouldn't have been apologized. He didn't deserve an apology. After all, he was the one being a jerk.

"Whatever, what did you want to talk about?" He asked, shaking his shaggy-blonde hair. He looked like a golden retriever.

"Yeah, so I was wondering if you were mad at me," I started off. Not exactly what I wanted to ask first, but whatever.

"Mad?" He scoffed, "Why the hell would I be mad at you?" He sat up and leaned forward across the table. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, I just seems like you were purposefully avoiding me this whole week." I stated simply. "So I assumed you were mad at me…for last Friday." At this point, I didn't even know why I was so concerned about the fact Derrick was ignoring me.

"Look, Massie, I don't know what you were thinking," Derrick leaned back in his chair. "If anything, I'd say _you_ were the one ignoring me this whole week."

I couldn't help but let out an indignant gasp. What. The. Hell. Did he really just say that? I kicked him in the shins again, hoping to leave a huge nasty bruise there. Derrick let out a yelp and cursed. I stood up. "You're unbelievable!"

I turned to leave but Derrick called out. 'Wait, Massie!" I turned around. 'I'm sorry," For a moment, I thought I saw the old, shy Derrick. But it was gone in a flash. Now I was looking at a bored, self-centered Derrick who really didn't mean his apology.

"You need to work on your apologies," I said, giving Derrick a withering look.

"Don't worry, I don't intend to make it a habit," Derrick retorted.

That did it. For the second time in less than a week, I left Starbucks, leaving a boy alone there.

**-xoxo-**

**52. Derrick Harrington**

**Market Ranking: **52

**Today's Change: **Up 13

**Share Price: **$41.15

**3 Month Range: **$30.00-$42.00

**Status: **Wavering Bond

**Analyst Recommendation:** Finally switched to contacts, eh? 'Bout time, Derrick. And it seems like with a different look, you have a different personality. Not sure if I like it or not. We'll have to see. In the meantime, just keep doing what you're best at-studying.

I slammed my laptop shut in frustration. Derrick went up more than ten places in a matter of a few hours. Now that Derrick had contacts, he acted like he was Mr. Big Shot all of a sudden. I didn't get it. Could a change like that happen that quickly?

My laptop dinged, informing me that I had gotten a new IM. I opened my laptop and saw that it was from Dylan.

**DylPickle:**** omg! U'll never guess what happened to me today!**

**Ilovebeanie:**** what? Lemme guess. U finally got an A no ur essay?**

**DylPickle: ****hey! It's not my fault Mr. Till can't recognize a good essay when he sees one. **

**Ilovebeanie:**** mhmm, sureeee.**

**DylPickle: ****anyways, cam tried to bribe me into giving him ur #!**

**Ilovebeanie:**** lol, with what? What did he do?**

My cell phone rang at that moment. "Yeah, Dyl?"

"Get this! He offered me front row tickets and VIP backstage passes for the Cobra Starship concert!" Dylan shrieked.

I sucked in my breath. Wow, that was an incredible offer. I knew that would be especially difficult to say no to. Which is why I had a feeling Dylan had given in and told Cam.

"So, what did you say?"

Dylan scoffed. "Of course I said no! I told him no offer as sweet as front row tickets would get me to tell him your number."

"Aw, that's why you're my best friend, Dyl," I smiled.

"I know, right? I totally deserve a metal for doing that." Dylan paused. "But that's not even the best party. After I told him that he laughed and said, 'Don't worry, you'll still get the tickets. You're such a good friend,'"

"Wait, so you still got the tickets and VIP passes?"

"Yes! The concert's next Saturday! I'm so excited!"

"That's great," I said, feeling happy for Dylan. "Thanks again,"

"No problem," Dylan laughed, "You should come to the concert with me!"

"Thanks, but no thanks," I paused and added, "I'm not a huge fan of Cobra Starship. Ask Chris Plovert if he wants to go with you. I know he likes Cobra Starship.

Dylan had a little crush on Chris Plovert ever since she was in his class in sophomore year.

I heard Dylan gasp. "He does? Great, then I'll go ask him right now! See you tomorrow, Mass!"

I smiled and hung up. I looked at the clock and saw that it was already seven-thirty. I decided to take a quick shower before heading downstairs for dinner. I stopped short when I heard two male voices coming from the kitchen. I glanced into the kitchen and saw my parents chatting happily with Cam. What the hell? How had he gotten my address? I instantly thought of Dylan. Guess she couldn't resist _everything_.

"Massie! Your friend here dropped by ten minutes ago while you were taking a shower," My mom said, gesturing to Cam.

Ah, yes, my _friend_ who was going to have a lot of explaining to do later on. Why were my parents being so…chummy, for lack of a better of a better word. Usually my parents would be instantly suspicious of any of my guy friends. Not that I really had any…I gave Cam a _What are you doing here?_ look and he just smiled in return.

"Yeah, actually, I was wondering if Massie wanted to go grab a bite with me," Cam said.

Go grab a bite? He said it as if there was nothing to it. Just dinner between two friends. I rolled my eyes and looked at my parents, expecting them to come up with an excuse so that I couldn't go. Instead, my mother's smile intensified.

"What a lovely little idea, but are you sure you don't want to stay and have dinner with us instead?" My mom suggested, "I made a wonderful salad and chicken."

I frowned at my parents. What was up with them? Did Cam hypnotize them or something? But hey, I shouldn't have been complaining. I was a simple 'yes' away from going out with the hottest senior at school.

"So what do you say?" Cam asked, grinning.

I sighed as if answering his question was a big burden. I couldn't let him see how eager I was. "Sure,"

Cam's eyes lit up. "Great! I know a wonderful place we can go to."

I looked down at my T-shirt and blue Hello Kitty pajamas and blushed. "Then let me go change first," I dashed upstairs, leaving my parents and cam to talk some more.

I rummaged through my drawers, trying to find a decent top and jeans. I finally settled for a purple cardigan with a white tank top underneath and my only pair of Seven For Mankind jeans. I had gotten them for sale at Nordstrom's a couple months ago. That was toped off with my gray boots that I'd worn earlier today.

I swiped some mascara on and dabbed on a bit of my Sugar Plum lip gloss. I combed my hair quickly, hoping it would dry straight.

When I went downstairs, I saw that Cam and my parents had moved to the front door. When Cam saw me, he said, "I'll get her back by ten, Mr. and Mrs. Block."

"Alright, that sounds good to me," my dad smiled and shook Cam's hand. "It was nice meeting you,"

"It was nice meeting you too," Cam replied and looked at me. "Well, shall we go?"

I nodded and followed him outside. As soon as the door closed, I said, "So now you've resorted to stalking me?"

"Is that what you call it? _Am _I stalking you?" He said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Yes, you're totally stalking me," I swatted him lightly. "Don't try to lie," But hey, he was welcome to stalk me any day, anytime.

"Ah, but I beg to differ." Cam said, "you say _pa-tay-toe_, I say _pa-ta-toe_."

I snorted.

"Really, you call this stalking. I merely call it a friendly inquiry." We reached his car. I got in and noticed that all his magazines were gone.

"What did you do to my parents?" I asked as Cam started the car.

"What do you mean?"

"They're never this open and accepting of guys," I explained, "And as for you, I can tell my mom adores you." I blushed.

He chuckled. "What can I say? I'm just that charming and attractive. I can't help it," He winked at me.

I grinned. "Oh, just shut up and drive."

* * *

**So in the next chapter, there will be more about Massie's 'date' with Cam!! **

**REVIEW, please!!**


	8. Derrick Plays Soccer?

**Funny how the winners from the last chapter didn't review. Haha, I thought they would. But anyways, sorry it took so long for this chapter! **

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"So where are we going?" I asked, anxious to find out the destination.

"Neverland," Cam replied with a straight face. "You've ever been there? I heard it's wonderful,"

I groaned. "Cam, seriously! I want to know!"

"Sorry, you can't know," Cam said, "Don't worry, we're going to arrive soon,"

I fidgeted in my seat and decided to switch the subject back to his stalking. "So I assume Dylan told you my address?"

He laughed. "Yeah, she did. Let me tell you, it took me fifteen minutes to get it out of her,"

I smiled. That's my best friend. "So do you regularly stalk girls like this? Get friendly with their parents and then take them out to dinner?"

"No, I only do that to you," Cam said.

"Oh, and why is that?" I wondered. We stopped at a red light and Cam turned and faced me.

"Because you're the only girl I like."

I blushed and cleared my throat. I didn't know what to say. "Go," I said, pointing to the light that had just turned green.

I recognized the streets and shops we were passing by. We stopped right in front of Maggiano's Little Italy, my favorite restaurant. I was stunned. Cam parked the car and got out and opened the door for me.

"Massie, are you coming or not?" Cam was waiting for me to get out of the car.

"Cam, how-how did you know this was my favorite restaurant?"

"This is your favorite restaurant? Even better!" He feigned surprise. "Come on, I found this bit of info from Dylan too," He grinned and opened the door for me. "A reservation for two under _Rivera_," Cam told the person at the counter.

Reservation? Cam had made a reservation? "What were you going to do if I didn't come?" I asked, following the waiter who was leading us to our table.

"Cancel," Cam shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"You can't just make a reservation and then cancel last minute!" I exclaimed, appalled. "Especially not at this restaurant!" This restaurant was one of the most expensive and fancy restaurant in town and my family and I only came here on special occasions.

"Then I guess it's a good thing I knew you were going to come, huh?" We sat down and the waiter handed us the menus.

"Let me guess, you know what my favorite dish here is," I said, raising an eyebrow.

Cam shook his head. "Actually no, I don't. What a shame."

"What a shame," I echoed and laughed. "Well, in that case, I'll have the pesto pasta and just a glass of water," I handed the menu back to the waiter. "What are you going to have, Cam?"

He snapped the menu shut and told the waiter, "Surprise me,"

The waiter gave a startled look and looked at me for help. But I just simply shrugged and said, "Just surprise him," The waiter walked away, confused. "Do you always do that when you go out?"

"Only when I'm in a good mood," Cam answered.

"Ah, I see. Glad to hear that." I said, fiddling with the sleeve of my cardigan. "You're a weird guy," I teased.

"Coming from you, I take that as a compliment."

The waiter came back and gave my glass of water. I thanked him and took a sip. "So, Cameron Rivera, I have some questions for you…"

**-xoxo-**

Last night had been amazing. One of the best nights I've had in a long time. Cam and I chatted for hours and hours and we would've kept on going had I not checked the time. Cam had freaked out a bit because it had been past ten already. I told him not to worry about it because my parents liked him too much to even get angry at him. And sure enough, my parents were totally cool about it. We ended the night with a perfect kiss.

I was walking down the hallway when I finally spotted Cam. Unfortunately he was with Alicia and they seemed busy. No worries, I had time, so I was just going to wait for him. I stood a few feet away, pretending to be texting.

"Does anyone else know about this?" Cam asked quietly.

"Only Claire and Kristen," Alicia replied, biting her lip. "But I totally trust them,"

Cam nodded in satisfaction. "Good, let's keep it that way. Jeez, why didn't you tell me this earlier? Or just go to the police, in fact?"

My ears perked up. Police?

"Cam, what are we going to do?" Alicia whined, completely ignoring Cam's question.

Cam sighed. "Alicia, this is technically none of my business. You did this all on your own. You knew what you were getting into when you decided to drive _drunk_."

Well that wasn't a huge surprise. Alicia would do all sorts of things.

"None of this would've ever happened if you didn't come to my party," He continued,

Alicia looked offended. "Not go to your party? Where were you thinking anyway, huh? Planning a secret party…"

"Yeah, to prevent something like this from happening."

Alicia glared at Cam. "God, what's your problem? She slammed her locker shut and walked away.

I walked up to Cam. "Hey, you okay? It looked like you were arguing with Alicia,"

The frown disappeared from Cam's face, replaced with a smile. He shook his head. "Nah, just the usual,"

I smiled, but was not thoroughly convinced. "Alright, if you say so." I saw Alicia disappear around the corner. "Anyway, are you busy after school?"

He frowned. "Unfortunately, yes, something just came up. I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's okay. No big deal." The bell rang. "Just call me later when you get a chance. I'll see you later."

Cam leaned down and kissed me. I was pretty sure everyone in the hallway stopped walking and gawked at the two of us. "See ya."

I giggled and we kissed once more before leaving.

**-xoxo-**

Even thought the bell hadn't rung yet, Mr. Lema was already handing out worksheets for us to do. "Okay, we don't have a lot of time to complete this worksheet. It's pretty complicated and in-depth. So I've put you guys in pairs." Mr. Lema pointed to the names on the board. "Get with you partners now and hopefully we'll be able to complete it in time."

_Derrick Harrington+Massie Block_. Dammit. I blew out my breath. Oh well, at least it was only for this stupid worksheet.

"And these pairs are also going to be for a project that's going to be worth twenty percent of your grade. It's like a final, so you better take this seriously."

I gaped at Mr. Lema. No he couldn't do this to me. No. Derrick and I couldn't work together on a long-term project. An in-class thing? Sure. But long-term? No way. I raised my hand. "Mr. Lema, why won't you change the pairs?"

"Because I'm too lazy to change them," He answered simply, earning snickers from a few people in class. "And here are the instruction for the project. It's due in a week. No exceptions."

I grabbed the stack of papers from Derrick when he handed it back to me and glared at him. I glanced over the instructions and instantly hated the project. We had to pick a significant figure in American history. One of us had to dress up as that famous person and acout out a scene while the other person narrated it. Then we also had to write a report on the person. How could this be done in only a week? There's no way we could finish, especially since Derrick was my partner. All he'd be doing is flipping his hair and pissing me off. Well, let's hope he gets over it soon and starts using his brain only.

"So, Block, it's me and you again," Derrick drawled, turning around in his seat.

I didn't even bother to reply. I grabbed the textbook from underneath the desk and opened it to the section we were on. I found the first answer within a minute. I rolled my eyes. So much for hard.

"Now that's now how you're supposed to treat your partner, is it?" Derrick smirked, tilting his head and trying to read the answer.

I lifted the textbook and smacked Derrick's hand. Her jerked his hand away and scowled. "Fine, be that way," He muttered, turning back around. "Whatever, it's not like I need your help anyway."

I snorted. That was true. So why did he keep bothering me? I blocked Derrick out of my mind and ended up finish the "complicated" worksheet in twenty minutes. With twenty minutes left in the period, I had nothing to do. I glanced up at the board and Mr. Lema gave me a _You should be doing something right now_ look and I sighed. I decided to start brainstorming for the project. I didn't know if Derrick wanted to dress up as the person but I knew I didn't want to for sure. I gave up brainstorming five minutes later. It was usually. I was going to make Derrick come up with the people.

After ten more minutes of pretending to do homework, the bell finally rang. I wanted to talk to Derrick about the project, but as usual, he'd already disappeared.

**-xoxo-**

I finally found Derrick in the parking lot, chatting with some of his new found friends like, Chris Plovert, Kemp Hurley, and some blonde guy I've never seen before. Who, not to mention, were some of the most popular juniors.

When I finally reached him, I noticed that everyone had stopped talking. They all just started at me and I blushed.

"What do you want, Block?" Derrick asked, breaking the silence.

"Don't call me Block," I snapped. "We need to talk about the project."

The testing look on Derrick's face was gone, replaced with a serious one. I admit, I was surprised at the sudden change of attitude.

"Oh, yeah. What about it?" Derrick said, "We need to come up with some people first, right? Did you come up with anyone yet?"

"No, but first we need to figure out who's dressing up. Nose goes!" I touched my nose. "Oh, too bad, looks like you're gonna be dressing up."

The guys cracked up. "Man, who you gonna be? Are you going to dress up as a girl?' Kemp laughed.

Derrick scowled. "That wasn't fair! I wasn't ready!"

"_That wasn't fair!_" I mimicked in a high-pitched voice. 'God, grow up, Derrick. Be a man."

"Yeah, dude," Chris whacked him in the arm. "Listen to the lady,"

I flashed a brief smile at Chris and turned back to Derrick. "You can choose who you want to dress up as," I said, "But if you don't cooperate with me, I _will_ make you wear a dress, got it?"

Derrick glared at me. "Really? You think you can make me wear a dress?"

"Maybe not. But Mr. Lema can and I think a small chat with him would make him force you into wearing a dress," I smiled. "But like I said, if you just cooperate with me, you won't have to wear a dress ever."

"She's got you, mate." The unknown blonde spoke up in an accent that could make any American girl's heart jump. "You're trapped."

"Hi, I don't believe we've met yet," I said, extending my right hand out. "I'm Massie Block."

"And I'm Landon Crane," The blonde said, shaking my hand. "Lovely to meet you." He was very good-looking. Hot. He looked very mature. If Derrick was a Golden Retriever, then land Crane was a Saint Bernard or something.

"Nice to meet you too," I blushed. "Are you a junior too?" I wasn't quite sure because he looked a bit mature to be sixteen or seventeen.

"Yes, indeed, I am," He flashed a stunning smile. "Just moved here from England."

"And this is your first week here?" I asked, because that would explain why I hadn't seen him before.

"Yes, it is," He replied, "I don't know many people yet and I'm still a little bit lost in getting around the campus."

"No worries, I can take you on a tour sometime tomorrow if you'd like," I offered. I was always gracious to a guy with a beautiful voice. His face wasn't offending anyone either.

He grinned. "Would you be so kind as to do that? I don't want to trouble you. I assume you'll be very busy."

Oh, he was so sweet and polite! I loved the way he talked. I wish some of Landon would rub off on Derrick. "Oh, don't worry about it. I've got lots of free time," I smiled. "Just let me know when you're free."

"Ah, you're such a sweetheart," Landon said, 'Will tomorrow at lunch work for you?"

I nodded, "Sure, of course!"

"Great, then tomorrow at lunch it is, then."

Derrick cleared his throat. "Great. Well, then, if you guys are done talking about crap, let's get back to the topic, okay?"

I ignored Derrick. "So how do you know these guys?"

"Oh, they're on the football team," Landon answered, "I tried out the first day I got here."

Wait, football? Football season was already over a long time ago. "Football? But you guys don't play football," I said, looking at Chris and Kemp.

"He means soccer," Derrick smirked.

Landon's face lit up. 'Ah, yes, soccer. Sorry about that. I always forget you guys cal lit soccer here. Still not used to that."

I laughed. "Wait, Derrick, you play soccer? I didn't know that."

He looked offended. "Yeah, why? Did you think since I'm smart, I couldn't be an athlete too?"

"Then why didn't you play last year or the year before?" I asked, giving Derrick a look.

Derrick's face turned slightly red and there was s light pause before he answered. "Because I had glasses," He muttered, 'And that made it too difficult to play."

There was a moment of stunned silence before I bursted out laughing. They guys soon joined in. "That's the stupidest reason I've ever heard!"

"It is not!" Derrick retorted indignantly, "How was I supposed to play with glasses? Soccer's a major contact sport and they would fall or get knocked off the minute I stepped onto the field!"

I couldn't stop laughing. "So, that's it? That's the only reason?"

Derrick nodded lamely.

"He's hella good though," Kemp said, "We could've really used him last year."

Landon nodded in agreement. "Absolutely. He's a fantastic goalie. He blocks almost all the shots!"

Derrick puffed a bit in pride and grinned, back to his usual self.

"Okay, enough about soccer," I said. I was a bit impressed at Derrick's soccer skills. "Derrick, let me know what ideas you come up with ASAP, okay?"

Derrick smiled. "Why don't you come with me back to my house and we can brainstorm there. That way, we'll have an idea by the end of the day."

Derrick wanted me to go to his house? What was he thinking? But I really wanted to get an idea down by today, so I reluctantly agreed. "Fine, it better not take forever."

"It'll only take forever if you take forever, Block," Derrick stated. He opened the passenger door of his silver BMW. "Here you go,"

As I slipped into his car, I saw Cam coming out of the building. He spotted me and gave me a confused and wary look. I flashed him a smile and waved to him to let him know everything was okay. I mouthed, _I'll call you later _but wasn't sure if he understood me or not.

Derrick got in and started the car. I waved goodbye to the guys and as we pulled out of the parking lot, my glance lingered on Landon for a little bit longer.

* * *

**Ooh. What do you guys think of Landon? Hottie alert! **

**What did you think of this chapter?**

**Next chapter will be at Derrick's house and probably something else. **

**REVIEW, please!! **


	9. What's That Smell?

**OMG, spring break is finally here. It's probably over for some of you guys but mine just started! I'm so excited because now I can FINALLY update this story! I'm sorry I've been totally gone for the past few months. School is just wayy too stressful. But anyway, here's a super intense chapter for you guys! Enjoy!**

* * *

I didn't know what to expect when I arrived at Derrick's house. His car pulled up in front of what looked like a three story mansion. He must've caught me staring because he said, "Yeah, I told my parents that a family like us didn't need a house of this size. But of course, they didn't listen to me."

I followed Derrick up a bunch of steps to reach the front door. But before Derrick could take out his key and unlock the door, the door swung open to reveal a slightly younger girl with the same blond hair and cerulean eyes as Derrick. Her thick, long, wavy hair was neatly curled and accentuated with a green headband.

"God, Derrick. What took you so long?" the blonde demanded. "I have a meeting in ten minutes and I need to get there early to set up." She stopped short when she noticed me. Her cheeks colored and she cleared her throat. "Oh, hello, didn't you see there."

Derrick rolled his eyes. "Dani, this is Massie Block. Massie, this is Dani, my sister." He walked inside.

"Nice to meet you," Dani replied, sticking her right hand out.

I absent-mindedly shook her hand and turned towards Derrick. "I didn't know you had a sister."

"Yeah, she's only a freshman," Derrick shrugged as if his sister was of no importance. "Why would I talk about my sister?"

"I've never seen you around school," I said, eyeing Dani a little bit closer. " Because I would've definetely noticed you."

Dani laughed. 'Yeah, I know. That's because I go to a private school. Always have been going to one."

"Yeah and why I didn't go to a private school to?" Derrick spoke up. "I have no clue. Maybe our parents thought sending Dani to a private school would be more benficiary than sending me."

Dani cracked a smile. "Right, well now I'm going to be late. Thanks a lot, fool." She grabbed her bag and said, "It was nice meeting you, Massie." And with that, she bounded down the steps and disappeared around the corner.

"Um, doesn't she need a ride or something?" I asked.

"Nah, her friend's going to pick her up around the corner." Derrick said, closing the door. "My sister needed me to be home today because she needs someone to help her keep an eye out for the cookies and the brownies she's baking for some charity event tomorrow."

"Sounds fun," I sighed, glancing around the room.

"Sure, but now it's even better with you here." Derrick grinned, "So, do you want anything to drink? We've got everything."

"Um, just water will be fine. Thanks."

"Oh, hold on, Dani left the T.V. on." He grabbed the remot and was about to turn it off when I said, "Wait! Leave it on. I want to hear this."

He shrugged, "Okay, have a seat."

I sat down and turned my attention to the T.V. There was a reporter standing in front of an area that was roped off with a yellow caution tape.

"The body of 58-year old David thompson was found last night at around 11 P.M.," The reporter said, gesturing to the place behind her. "A driver was driving by when he noticed something on the road. That's when he stpoped and discovered the body on this road just ten miles from the lake."

I gasped and looked over at Derrick who had just come back from the kitchen. His face had paled. We both knew where the reporter was talking about. I was pretty sure he'd been at Cam's party.

"This particular road is not very common and usually doesn't get a lot of drivers around here." The reporter continued, "But it looks like this was a hit and run. Police are stil trying to figure out the time of death and the exact details."

"Turn it off," I said as I stood up.

"Massie, are you okay?" Derrick asked and came over. I looked up at him and frowned.

"You know that place, right?" I asked, referring to what the reporter had just said.

Derrick nodded, "I think so, I mean, I've never used that road before. I've just heard epople talking about alternative routes to get back to the city. They're supposedly faster but more dangerous."

"Of course," I muttered. "So you don't know what happened?"

He looked utterly confused and shook his head. "No, I don't know anything. What are you even talking about?"

I shook my head. We were here to do out project not worry about something that was completely out of our league. This story was just making me paranoid. "Nothing, never mind. I was just being stupid."

Derrick looked concerned, so concerned that all traces of his cockiness was gone. It was like he was back to his old self. I almost smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, let's get started. I don't want to be here all night."

Derrick cleared his throat. "Alright, sounds good to me. Let me go grab my laptop." When he returned, he had the laptpo in one hand and a cup in the other. Heset the laptop down on the table and opened it up to Google. "Alright, where do we start?" Derrick sighed, his fingers hovering over the keyboard.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I don't care. You're the one dressing up so you get to decide." I leaned back on the couch and stared at him expectantly. Then I closed my eyes and heard Derrick's fingers quickly typing.

"Okay, then how about George Washington?" Derrick suggested, "He's easy and everyone knows him already."

My eyes popped open and I frowned at him. "George Washington? Are you serious? That's the best you can come up with?"

"Hey, what's wrong with George Washington?" Derrick scowled, "He was our first president."

"Exactly, everyone knows him, so what's the point of doing him?" I sighed. "We're _not_ going to do him."

Derrick grumbled and returned to searching. He grabbed his backpack and took out his history binder. "Okay, how about Alexander hamilton?" He shifted his laptop towards me. "Not as many people know about him."

I glanced at the web page and nodded. "Okay, sure, whatever."

"Great, so maybe I can wear a white wig," Derrick said, "And I can dress up in long flowly jackets and tights. I'm going to be mighty sexy.' He had adopted a weird, deep gravelly voice.

I couldn't help but crack up and whacked him with his history binder. "Oh, that reminds me. Can I look at your notes from yesterday? I didn't get everything from Mr. Lema's lecture."

"Yeah, sure," Derrick stood up, "I'll be right back, I need to get something from my room."

"'Kay thanks." I opened his binder and took out his notebook. I flipped through the pages, triyng to find yesterday's notes. After flipping through what seemed like a hundred pages, I finally found the notes I was looking for. I grabbed my pen and started copying. When I was halfway through the notes, I started to smell something funny. I smalled the notebook down and shoved it back into Derrick 's binder. "Derrick! What's that smell?" Then I realized we had totally forgotten about Dani's cookies and brownies in the oven. That was probably the sources of the foul smell. I looked at the hallway leading to the bedrooms, willing for Derrick to suddenly appear. Seconds passed and I couldn't take it any longer. I didn't want their beautiful mansion to burn down.

I leapt off the couch and bounded towards the kitchen and saw smoke starting to rise and come out form the oven. "Shit!" I wildly glanced around at the cabnets, trying to figure out which one held the oven mitts. But I couldn't waste any more time and thought, _Oh, screw the oven mitts. What's the worst that's going to happen to me?_ So I found the button to turn off the oven and I grabbed the handle, tugging it open. Immediately, a cloud of thick, black smoke billowed out and enveloped me. I choked on the smoke and quickly fanned the air, trying to get rid of as much smoke as I could. However, as I was blindly waving smoke off, I accidentally managed to touch the oven rail and immediately felt pain shoot up my hand. I let out a yelp and stumbled back, tripping on the vacuum cleaner cord. I hit my head on the marble counter as I fell down.

"Hey, Massie, what's the weird smell?" Derrick called out, walking into the kitchen. He stopped short as he took in the horrific scene in front of him. "Massie!" He rushed to my side and picked me up. "Massie! What happened?"

I opened my mouth to speak but a coughing fit overcame me. I glanced up at him and saw that he had changed his shirt to a white t-shirt. "Derrick," I mumbled, "Why did you change your shirt? Silly boy." Closing my eyes, I leaned my head against his chest. "You're so warm." My eyes popped open and I frowned. "Oh no, I ruined your shirt. It's dirty now! Why is there red paint on your shirt? Who did that?" I giggled, "Were you painting in your room?"

"Massie, Massie, can you hear me?" Derrick whispered frantically, " Oh my God, you're bleeding." Derrick fumbled with his phone as he dialed 911.

"Derrick," I muttered, "My hand and head hurts. I think I accidentally hit them."

"Don't worry, Massie," Derrick lifted me up in his arms. "Help will be here soon. Just keep your eyes open. Look at me. I'm here for you, okay?"

"But I'm tired," I protested, "I want to go to sleep." My eyes start to cross. "Goodnight, Derrick." And I'm out.

**-xoxo-**

On a normal day, the black-haired beauty would have ordered a caramel machiatto from the Java Bean. But today, on a day like this, Alicia needed a double shot espresso to calm her nerves. She grabbed her drink off the counter and sat herself down in one of the tables in the corner. She took a sip and retrieved her iPhone from her navy blue Longchamp Pilage bag. Flipping through her old texts, Alicia came upon the text she was looking for.

**From: **Alicia Rivera

**To: **Kristen Gregory, Claire Lyons

Ladies, tonight is the night where we party and drop it like it's hot. No doubt we'll be partying our asses off and getting drunk as hell. Bring you're A game on tonight. Don't be a party pooper! Love ya!

Alicia did an involuntary shudder and her finger hovered over the delete button for a split second before hitting it. She let out a breath of relief as if deleting that text got rid of all her worries. But that was only the first step in getting out of this situation that she had gotten herself in. She opened a new text.

**From: **Alicia Rivera

**To: **Kristen Gregory, Claire Lyons

Get to The Java Bean in ten minutes. Don't text me back. JUST GET HERE NOW!

She dropped her iPhone onto the table and took another sip of her drink. The next step was only going to be harder.

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**So yeah, there ya go! There was actually an alternative cookie scene with Massie and Derrick that was MUCH happier. Haha, but I ended up choosing the sad part. Oh well, that just creates more drama. What do you think Alicia will be planning next? I will be adding way more about Alicia in the next chapter! Let me know what you thought of this chapter, please! REVIEW!! (And I'll definitely add the next chapter in the next couple of days!)**


	10. Can I Go Home Now?

**Oh dear. Spring break is over already! This chapter took a little longer than expected, but whatever. Enjoy!**

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When the goal is to get rid of all evidence and links to a situation, it is to one's best interest not to attract any attention.

But of course, that is easier said than done. Especially for a girl like Alicia when her supposed two best friends wanted to rat her out.

"Alicia, Kristen and I both think that it'd just be better if you went to the police. They're eventually going to find out the truth." Claire said, fidgeting and tugging at the hem of her skirt. "You know that." The three girls were currently sitting on a bench right outside Central Park with drinks in their hands.

"No, I will _not_ be turning myself in," Alicia hissed, glaring at her best friends. "And neither will you guys. Don't forget I have dirt on both of you."

Claire and Kristen glanced at each other uncertainly.

"Yes, you know what I'm talking about." Alicia turned towards Claire as her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Does the name, Allie Langston, ring a bell?" Alicia enjoyed watching Claire's face pale.

"You swore you would never tell anyone." Claire's voice trembled slightly as she threw Alicia a glare.

"Let's see…ah, yes. I still remember that night clearly." Alicia smirked and took another sip of her drink. "You were drunk outta your mind and accepted a dare from Zoe Templeton. Remember?"

Claire looked away in shame.

"And if I remember correctly, you were supposed to slip some cough medicine into a random stranger's drink. But instead, you slipped it into Allie Langston's drink who we hated at that time and still hate." Alicia laughed, "Poor girl, after ten minutes, she completely dozed off and who was to blame when she woke up and found herself half-naked and on the couch in some freak's house." Alicia winked at Claire. "You wouldn't want that to get out, would you? I mean, something like this could just accidentally slip out when I'm talking someone."

Kristen snickered and was glad she never told Alicia about the things she did. Besides, it's not like those things were ridiculously bad.

"Kristen." The single word that came from Alicia's mouth shut her up. "Although you haven't done anything as horrible as that, you've definitely done something so scandalous that if the word got out that you cheated on your SATs, all the private and ivy-league schools will kick your name off their list in less than a heartbeat. Why did you even cheat? I have no frickin' idea, you're the smartest person at school and you have nothing to worry about." There was a slight pause. "Well, _now _you do."

Now it was Claire's turn to snicker but she stopped as soon as she realized they both were being blackmailed. Sometimes, she wished she was never friends with Alicia. Despite all the advantages of being BFFs with Alicia Rivera, the disadvantages sometimes actually outweighed the advantages.

"So I trust you guys will keep this secret? Cause I'd hate to see your little secrets exposed and your life ruined." Alicia smiled, pleased with herself for handling the situation so well.

Kristen and Claire glanced at each other for a brief moment before nodding.

"Great, now that we've got that settled, it's time to move on to the next problem-Massie Block. She likes to snoop around a lot. I've noticed her hanging around a little bit too much when Cam and I are talking. I think she may know something about the incident. Luckily for us, Massie's in the hospital at the moment. Something about getting a concussion and setting the kitchen on fire. I don't really know. Cam was practically going crazy over that."Alicia said, rolling her eyes because she didn't understand why Cam had made such a big deal out of that. People got hurt all the time, so what? "Anyway, that means Massie's temporarily off our backs for a little while. But when she gets back, I want the two of you to make sure she doesn't get any further in her little "investigation", you got it? Stop her by any means possible."

Kristen frowned. _Massie Block?_ She hardly seemed like the type of person who would be investigating things.

"Meanwhile, I need to find a way to make Cam stop seeing her." Alicia muttered to herself. 'Get them to break up somehow…" She stood up and threw away her empty cup. She started walking away but turned back to say one last thing.

"Don't disappoint me."

**-xoxo-**

"Mom, seriously, I'm fine." I repeated for what seemed like the fifteenth time already. "I'm better now. My head doesn't hurt."

My mom peered at my anxiously, holding onto my hand as it for dear life. "Honey, you've been through a lot. Are you sure you're totally okay?"

I sighed and nodded. "Yes, seriously. I've been stuck here long enough and I want to leave as soon as possible. I should be able to leave by now, right? I've mean, it's been practically a week already. And I've missed out on too many things." _Like finding out more information on that car accident. _

"Yes, but are you sure you don't want to stay for an extra couple of days? It'll do you some good." My mom persisted.

"_Mom_," I gave her a _You're-really-annoying-me_ look and said, "If you don't get me outta here today, I'm going to walk out of this hospital myself and call a cab home." I watched as the expression on my mom's face tense. "Or I'll call Cam to come rescue me from this god forsaken place." It's not like I hated staying at the hospital. My stay at the hospital was rather pleasant although the food could've been better. Not needing to wake up so early everyday, lying in bed basically doing nothing was pretty relaxing. I was almost glad I had this accident. Cam had apparently visited me everyday at the hospital, except I didn't know that until recently because I was unconscious or sleeping most of the time.

"Alright, dear," My mom said, "Let me go find the doctor." She squeezed my hand and got up. 'I'll be back soon."

I smiled and settled back comfortably against the pillow. But now since there was no one to talk to anymore, I picked up the TV remote and turned it on. The TV was on a news channel and they happened to be talking about the hit and run incident again. I turned up the volume and listened closely.

"It was just about a week ago that the body of David Thompson was found on the side of an uncommon road. Now there are more details as to what exactly could've happened. " It was the same reporter as last time. "The police have found some flecks of paint on the man's body and some shattered glass. They have been sent to the lab for further testing."

A knock interrupted my focus and I was forced to turn the TV off. I pushed myself up straight against the pillow and said, "Come in!" Maybe it was Cam here to visit me.

But the door opened to reveal Derrick Harrington and his face lit up when he saw me sitting up and awake. I reached up to quickly comb my hair with my hand. Why oh why didn't I make sure I was decent looking enough before? I was pretty sure I looked like crap right now.

"Hey, there," Derrick said quietly, coming in and sitting down in the chair next to my bed. "How are you feeling?"

'I'm feeling great," I said. "I'm a lot better now."

"You're finally awake. All the other times I came to visit you, you were still asleep. These are for you," Derrick sheepishly handed me a bouquet of pink lilies. He looked at the ginormous base of red roses that Cam had sent me. "Well, it looks like you've gotten enough flowers already."

"No, not at all." I smiled and took a sniff of the lilies. "They're gorgeous. Thank you." I set them down next to Cam's roses.

"Listen, I feel responsible for what happened that day. I was stupid and irresponsible." Derrick started to say. 'It was all my fault."

I waved him off. "No, it wasn't your fault at all. It was mine, silly. I was the one who attempted to stop a fire and used my bare hands to open the oven and take the cookies out. Don't worry about it."

He shook his head. "But I should've been keeping my eyes on the cookies. I completely forgot about them and none of this should've happened."

"Okay, just forget about everything that happened." Trying to change the mood, I smiled. "So how did your sister react? Did she get mad that you ruined her cookies?"

Derrick cracked a smile. "Surprisingly, no. I was sure she was going to cut my head off. She gets super serious about things like that. In fact, she just texted me that she's coming now to visit you and she just arrived at the hospital. She feels bad about what happened to you."

Sure enough, about thirty seconds later, Dani bursted in. Although she appeared slightly out of breath, her shiny blond hair was still perfectly in place and this time she had a sparkly purple barrette attached. "Massie!" She rushed over to give me a hug. "Sorry, I was just at this convention thing but I just had to come when Derrick told me that you were finally awake!"

I laughed. "That wasn't necessary. You didn't have to come visit me. "

"Oh, but I did." She pouted. "I feel so bad about what happened to you. It was all my stupid brother's fault!" She turned towards Derrick and slapped him on the back.

I giggled. "Oh, come on, you guys. You guys have to stop worrying about this. Let me say it for the last time. None of this was your fault. Why can't we just forget about this whole incident?"

Dani sighed and shook her head. "But we can't. Don't worry, we're going to make it up to you. I've got the perfect thing planned!" She nudged Derrick's knee and stared pointedly.

"No, get your own chair." Derrick scooted closer to the bed. But he winced when Dani kicked his shin. He scowled and gave up. "Fine, you can have the goddamn chair. Geez, no need to get so violent."

Dani smirked triumphantly and sat down. I smiled at the sight of Derrick being bossed around by his younger sister. "So, like I said before, I have the perfect day planned out for you." Dani began. "And Derrick."

"Wait, and me?" Derrick sputtered, wondering if he'd heard right. "Why does it have to include me? Why don't you just go with Massie since you planned all this?"

"_Because_," Dani sighed, exasperated with Derrick. "I'm not the one who screwed up and caused this to occur. And besides, this is your way to make it up to Massie. Be grateful that I came up with this. I know you could never think of something as elaborate as this."

Derrick's face turned slightly red and he fell silent, waiting for Dani to go on. She turned back towards me. "So you wanna know what it is?"

I nodded. "Of course, tell me!"

"Well first, I've arranged for the two of you to have brunch at Audrey's. You know, the adorable little café near Bloomingdale's. And please, don't just order coffee or something like that. There's a reason why Audrey's is named the number one café in the whole frickin' state. I don't want to find out that all you guys ordered were some lame drinks. Afterwards, you guys will hit the new science museum that's going to open in a couple of days. I heard they have the biggest aquarium on the East coast and there are lots of amazing species of plants and animals. For lunch, you guys will be-"

"Wait, it's going to be the whole day?" Derrick asked, coming over to sit down at the edge of the bed. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Derrick, shut up before I go home and throw away your soccer cleats." Dani narrowed her eyes for a moment and then the smile returned to her face. "As I was saying, you guys are going to be spending lunch at The Silver Dot. They have this amazing view of their beautiful garden. Almost every ingredient is grown right there, except for the meat of course."

"That sounds like a date," Derrick said, butting in once again. "Massie's got a boyfriend, you know."

"Did I say this was a date?" Dani scoffed and turned towards me. "Boys can be so stupid sometimes. I don't know how we can tolerate them."

Derrick slapped Dani's arm and she scowled. "Anyways, after lunch, it's time to spend some time at the amusement park. I'm sure you guys can keep yourselves busy for at least four hours. And when you're hungry, I was thinking you could come over to our house for dinner. I've already asked my mom and she thought it was a great idea. She really wants to meet you and thank you for saving our kitchen. I'm pretty sure our whole house would've burnt down if it wasn't for you."

I nodded. "Sure, that sounds great."

Dani beamed. "Perfect! Well, now you guys know the plan and I need to get back to my convention otherwise my friends will fall apart without me. Let me know if you have any questions!" She took out her notebook and ripped a piece of paper out. She quickly jotted her number down and dropped it on my lap. She opened the door to leave and waved. "See ya!"

Right when Dani left, Derrick said, "Sorry about that. My sister sometimes goes a little over the top when she gets excited."

I laughed. "That's cool, maybe she should be a party planner or something when she grows up. It definitely suits her."

Derrick chuckled. "Yeah, maybe. But as of right now, she wants to be a lawyer."

I opened my mouth to say something but my mom chose this time to barge in. "Honey, I just spoke to the doctor and he agreed with me that it was best for you to stay here a little longer." She then noticed an unfamiliar blonde boy who was sitting down on my bed. "Oh, hello…" She obviously didn't know who Derrick was because she'd never met him before. She looked back at me and mouthed, _Who is this boy? A new friend?_ Her gaze traveled back to Derrick.

"_Mom_."

"Uh, right. Sorry, Massie." My mom shrugged. "There was nothing I could do. You have to listen to the doctor's orders."

I frowned. I couldn't help but think that my mom had something to do with the doctor's decision to make me stay here. She probably took forever persuading him. I grumbled and gave her a look, hoping she would get the message that I wanted her to leave now.

"Okay, I'll leave you guys alone now. I'll be back to check on you later."

When my mom left, I sighed and leaned back against the pillow. Great, I was now stuck here for even longer. As if staying in the hospital for a week wasn't bad enough already. An idea suddenly popped up in my mind. "Derrick, how did you get here?"

He looked confused and answered, "I drove here…why?"

"You want to do me a huge favor right now?" I grinned mischievously, knowing he would agree because he still felt guilty. After getting the conformation nod from him I said, "Help me get out of this horrible place. I can't stay here a day longer. I need to get out _now_."

"But you heard what your mom and doctor said." Derrick protested, "Your doctor said you have to stay here for a couple more days."

"Derrick, _please_." I begged. "Please just get me out of here. It won't even be that hard. I can get changed in less than five minutes and all we have to do is to get past the people in the hallway and then we're clear."

A look of doubt clouded Derrick's face but then he sighed. "Fine, I'll help you 'escape'. But you have to promise me we won't get into any trouble!"

I cracked a smile. "I promise! Thanks, Derrick!" I flipped the covers off, stood up and gave him a hug. Okay, go wait outside the door and I'll come out when I'm ready."

Derrick nodded and obediently waited outside. I threw on my clothes, ran my hands through my hair a couple of times, and slipped on my favorite pairs of Converse. I grabbed my black duffel bag and opened the door. I tapped Derrick's back and grabbed his hand, leading him down the hallway and out the door.

The fresh burst of air instantly cleared and brightened my mind. Derrick lead me to his car and we quickly got in. He started the engine and soon enough, we were off. I had never felt this good in a while.

**-xoxo-**

Cam Rivera walked down the hallway with a fresh bouquet of red flowers. He was overjoyed that he finally got to visit his girlfriend when she was finally awake. He reached her room and quietly knocked on her door before opening it.

But he was not greeted by his beloved girlfriend. He spotted the new bouquet of lilies on the table and went over to inspect it. He picked up the little yellow card that was stuck in the middle of the bouquet.

_I'm so glad you're better now!_

_Love, Derrick_

Cam's hand tightened momentarily as he crumpled the little note and let it flutter to the ground. No, he wasn't greeted by his beloved girlfriend. He wasn't greeted by anyone but the sight of a wrinkled bed and two bouquet of flowers.

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**Wow, so this chapter was around 3,000 words! It's probably the longest chapter I've written yet! I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hoped you enjoyed it!**

**REVIEW! :]**


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